Pipeline Road runs from the south end of Exhibition Drive to Lower Nihotupu Dam Road. It is part of Watercare’s private road network, which supports the network of water reservoirs and dams through the Waitākere Ranges. There is a gate at the entrance, but you can walk along it to connect with the Slip Track. Slip Track then rises quite steeply up to Arataki Visitor Centre.
From Exhibition Drive, the first part of the walk is dull until you reach the large pipeline, which is part of the water transport network. Once you hit Slip Track, the forest regeneration is more dense and typical of the Waitākere Ranges. There are quite a few steps, and you cross over one of the old tramways that was used to haul kauri logs 100 years ago.
You can do this track as an extension of Exhibition Drive (closed to cars), but it is best done as a loop with Beveridge Track, starting and finishing at Arataki on Scenic Drive.
